Tag Archives: Assistive Technology

A new initiative, the Global Public Inclusive Infrastructure (GPII) is designed to offer libraries a better way to serve all patrons equally, including those with disabilities and unique technology preferences.

The diversity of people with disabilities (including all of the different types, degrees, and combinations of disabilities) raises the cost to secure all of the technologies needed to address those disabilities beyond the means of most libraries. Even if the technologies were available and affordable, most library staff cannot be expected to be assistive technology experts able to set-up, explain, and select assistive technology solutions to patrons with disabilities.

The GPII is designed to address these cost and expertise problems. GPII lets users explore and select the accessibility features they need, and create a cloud-based personal profile, which can be accessed on any device they want to use, making their preferred interface features the default setting on a public computer terminal or a bank machine. GPII users will arrive at the library with a way to call up their profiles on public terminals, reducing the need for staff assistance.